Bradford thrashed in League Cup final but still creates history

　　LONDON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Giant killer¹ Bradford failed to have a fairytale ending at League Cup final on Sunday as Premier² League side Swansea conquered the fourth-tier team with an overwhelming 5-0 victory to lift their first trophy³ in more than 100 years.

　　Bradford, who beat three Premier League teams including Wigan, Arsenal⁴ and Aston Villa⁵ in the previous rounds, became first team from England football's bottom league since 1962 to enter this final at Wembley.

　　However, with 69 teams between the opponents in the English league pyramid, Michael Laudrup's side was clearly too strong for the nicknamed Bantams, who failed to make a shot in the first half.

　　Nathan Dyer's brace⁶, Michu's cool finish, Jonathan de Guzman's penalty for being fouled⁷ by Goalkeeper Matt Duke, made the game with few doubts after 60 minutes when Duke was also shown a red card to leave a battling ten-man Bradford side.

　　De Guzman delivered his second goal in stoppage time to seal the 5-0 victory, sending the 82,597-attendance Wembley Stadium immersed into "white sea" composed of fans' waving flags.

　　Former Danmark's international Laudrup proved that he has the same level coaching potential as his player-career quality. With the trophy, Swansea have booked a berth⁸ for next season's Europa League.

　　However, Bradford still could leave the ground with their heads up.

　　In the modern football today, where lately the match-fixing scandals shocked the world, where more and more clubs built by huge amount of cash, Bradford proved that football is still the familiar sport to bring surprises.

　　That is just the beauty of games.

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

4 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

5 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

6 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

7 fouled   

v.使污秽( foul的过去式和过去分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏

参考例句：

• Blue suit and reddish-brown socks!He had fouled up again. 蓝衣服和红褐色短袜！他又搞错了。
• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories. 整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。

8 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。